In order to increase funds for carbon capture, the government has awarded hundreds of new oil and gas licences in the North Sea.
In advance of his visit to Aberdeenshire later today, Rishi Sunak made the announcement.
Additionally, he declared that the Acorn carbon capture project would receive millions of pounds in support and stressed the importance of enhancing our energy security.
The Government promised to invest up to £20 billion in early carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) deployment, and the Acorn project and the Viking project in the Humber are now receiving support.
These projects are now the third and fourth of their kind to receive government support.
Future licencing will still be subject to a climate compatibility test, according to the government and the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA).
Greta Thunberg and other environmental activists, however, are already adamant that the Rosebank oil and gas field, which is located to the west of Shetland, should not be developed.
To have new licencing rounds, Mr. Sunak argued, was “absolutely the right thing to do.”
Shell UK and other businesses collaborated on the project.
“We have all seen how Putin has manipulated and weaponized energy, disrupting supply and stalling growth in nations all over the world,” Rishi Sunak said in a statement.
More than ever, it’s crucial that we increase our energy security and take advantage of our independence to provide British households and companies with more reasonably priced, clean energy.
Even when we reach net zero in 2050, oil and gas will still provide a fifth of our energy demands. However, some people want it to originate from adversarial nations rather than our own resources.
Instead of relying on more carbon-intensive petrol imports from abroad, “We’re choosing to power up Britain from Britain and invest in crucial industries such as carbon capture and storage, which will support thousands of skilled jobs, unlock further opportunities for green technologies and grow the economy,” the statement reads.
According to Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps, the commitment to new oil and gas licences will “drive forward our energy independence and our economy for generations.”
Our energy security is more crucial than ever in the wake of Putin’s heinous invasion of Ukraine, according to Mr. Shapps.
In order to prevent dictators like Putin from ever again using energy as a tool to blackmail us, the North Sea is at the centre of our strategy to power up Britain entirely from within the country.
“Today’s decision to move forward with new oil and gas licences will advance our economy and energy independence for generations.”
providing a domestic fuel for our economy that, for domestic gas production, has about one-fourth the carbon footprint of imported liquefied natural gas while maintaining vital jobs in every region of the UK.
As we carry out our aim of expanding the economy, “our next steps to develop carbon capture and storage, in Scotland and the Humber, will also help to build a thriving new industry for our North Sea that could support as many as 50,000 jobs.”
According to Downing Street, Mr. Sunak would use the trip to call Scotland the “cornerstone” of the government’s plans for energy security.
Additionally, No. 10 gave the impression that the PM would be expected to emphasise initiatives to “boost the capability” of the North Sea industry in the move to net zero.
Amid a government focus on the problem, Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps will also meet with leading executives from the oil and gas, renewable energy and nuclear businesses over the course of the week.
After Mr. Sunak had been criticised for days on worries that the government’s commitment to important net zero initiatives and environmental promises was waning, the focus has now turned to British energy projects.
Some Tory MPs have argued for a change in the Government to draw a new line with Labour in light of the party’s victory in the Uxbridge by-election, which was motivated by resentment over London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez).
Although Sir Keir Starmer has previously stated that a Labour administration would not interfere with current licences, the party would prohibit new North Sea oil and gas drilling.
“Every family and business is paying the price, in higher energy bills, of 13 years of failed Tory energy policy,” said Ed Miliband, the shadow climate minister.
“It is ludicrous that the Conservative Party is urging the public to think they can solve it after leaving our country so exposed.
And it’s telling that Rishi Sunak veers frantically towards a culture war on climate change to placate his divided party, losing track of what he believes from day to day, depending on which faction he’s met with. While Labour focuses on lower costs and good jobs.
It’s a bad way to run a government, and it costs the working class.
However, Mr. Sunak and his ministers have emphasised the necessity of using the fossil fuel resources of the North Sea, particularly in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Climate activists are alarmed by these actions, and the government is already up against opposition to any development of Rosebank, an area 80 miles to the northwest of the Shetland Islands.
In an apparent effort to secure motorist support for the Conservatives, the prime minister ordered a review of the deployment of low-traffic districts, which raised concerns about his environmental credentials over the weekend.
The Financial Times also reported that the Government was moving to alter the UK’s post-Brexit carbon trading regime, giving companies additional allowances and making it less expensive to pollute.
‘We’ve taken substantial steps to increase the ambition of the UK Emission Trading Scheme, and recently announced a reduction in the cap of 30% – to bring the scheme in line with our net zero aspirations,’ a spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said.
“We want to ensure a seamless transition to the net zero cap, giving the market and participants time to adapt, while ensuring that the strength of overall ambition is not affected,” the statement reads.
After some backbenchers encouraged Mr Sunak to revisit the timeframe for the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles, not all Conservative MPs want the Prime Minister to soften net zero pledges.
“To take the chance of frying the planet is not conservative.” Senior Conservative lawmaker Damian Green stated on Sunday’s Westminster Hour on BBC Radio 4 that “if you fry the planet you’ve got nothing to conserve.”